Profile: Mary Beth Verry asks voters for second term on Danvers School Committee

Mary Byrne

Thursday

Apr 26, 2018 at 12:55 PM

Lifelong Danvers resident Mary Beth Verry is asking voters for another term on the Danvers School Committee.

"I still feel I have something to contribute to Danvers Public Schools," she said.

Verry is running against incumbents David Thomson and challenger Kevin Neely in the May 1 election.

Although Verry didn't go through the Danvers school system herself, she has two children currently enrolled in it. Through them, she's become increasingly involved in the system, having served on various committees, including the Parent Advisory Council at Riverside Elementary School.

Two years ago, she decided to run for the first time for School Committee.

"I wanted to get on the School Committee if I could, and try to make more of an impact on the district level, not just on the elementary school, middle school- levels," she said.

Verry, who currently works as an office manager at C.R. Lyons and Sons Funeral Home, graduated from Salem State with a Bachelor of Arts in communications with a focus on public relations. Previously, she worked in the public relations department at Channel 4 in Boston.

Verry said providing additional education on social/emotional learning is an important issue facing schools today, and one she would like to see Danvers expand upon.

"I have a child that is a special ed student, and we were talking about that before the district was talking about," she said. "[Danvers has] been doing a good job with it, and I think we're going to be doing a better job with it with additional training and focus."

Verry was instrumental in getting Jessica Minehan, a board certified behavioral analyst, to speak to teachers in several training sessions during the school year.

"To help students with their social/emotional learning will help them as students, too," Verry said.

She drew a connection between social/emotional learning in the schools and school safety.

"On a national level, I think it's something schools should be looking at and working on, and it's something we're doing here in Danvers," she said.

She also said schools are always looking for ways to not just teach to the test -- referring to standardized tests -- but to be creative and engaging in their lessons.

"It's really hard, because there aren't enough hours in the day, and teachers have a lot they're responsible for," she said. "But if we work together as a district and community, we can hopefully find ways to make it more engaging."

One of the committee's greatest accomplishments in the last term, Very said, was aiding in the transition of the new administrative team.

"The transition has gone well, and it continues to go well," she said.

Verry also noted the addition of new classes, particularly hands-on classes, to the curriculum, as a recent accomplishment, and receiving accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Looking forward, Verry said would like to continue working on the Smith School project, the new strategic plan, and on improving student achievement.

"I'd like to continue on for another term... Two years, it just wasn't enough," Verry said. "You're just getting going and getting a feel for it. That's why I'm running again."